Harin paid attention to the hall where the evaluation was held. Everything looked colorful in comparison to the previous evaluation. Tara had said before that hunters with monster weapons would be able to see the color of energy.
Harin focused on Syrus, who had a blood-red energy color. Brian was bright white, along with other colors that made Harin feel strange. She had never held a monster weapon. What had Syrus done to her that allowed Harin to see the color of energy?
"Harin Virendra." Harin filled in the last number area. She competed with fifteen hunters who had failed the evaluation. Five hunters would be selected to escape the punishment of becoming cadets if they could surpass the other ten hunters.
"Harin..." whispered Tara. Harin's friend, who was seated in the audience nearby, whispered to Harin, who could hear.
"Are you okay? I heard you were in pain but couldn't go to the toilet earlier," Tara asked.
"I'm fine." Tara sighed in relief at Harin's answer.
"We will talk later, during lunch," said Harin. Tara agreed to that. Harin also prepared again because now she could clearly see the doll in front of her. She looked back; the other four hunters also felt nervous because they were being tested with their respective abilities. Harin was only a few meters away from the object she had to shoot.
"Get ready!" said the referee.
"Wait..." said Syrus. He stood up from his seat. Syrus entered the training room dashingly. Harin was excited when she remembered the shadow of the wolf that appeared when they were in the bathroom. The more Syrus shows his strength, the more Harin is convinced that Syrus is the one who killed her parents, and Harin should not be discouraged here.
Syrus stood with his back to the doll that would be the target of Harin's shot, with the target on the doll's head right next to the man's neck. Syrus tested Harin's ability by installing himself.
"Back off," he said.
"Hm?" Harin blinked innocently. She also stepped back a little away from the supposed limit.
"Back off." Harin retreated again according to Syrus' command. Everyone really questioned the Ranker's attitude, who seemed to be angry with the new hunter for making him lose a thousand points. Harin continued to be ordered to retreat very far away.
"Shoot." Harin looked around; she was even outside the long-range shooter line.
"F—from here?"
"Sir, it's in—"
"You..." Syrus interrupted. He looked at the host, who seemed nervous under Syrus's cold gaze.
"The first person to laugh at her." Syrus moved his fingers. The host was shocked when the wolf suddenly came beside him carrying a weapon.
"Stand next to her and try to shoot."
"I have passed the shooting evaluation, S—"
"This is an order." Harin looked at some people who were approached by wolves with guns. The same wolf that had killed her parents. All those people couldn't help but accept the weapons that Syrus gave and immediately lined up next to Harin.
Now, Syrus was staring at Harin, who was wielding her gun. She aimed at Syrus's heart, who was watching his men. The four new children who were with Harin also got out of the way because the other four people who had laughed at Harin the loudest provoked the others to shoot with her."
"Isn't Syrus too emotional?" asked Ranker five.
"No, this is the right step to give them a lesson. Fellow hunters should not laugh at their fellows. This is a skill evaluation, not a comedy show," Brian corrected.
Harin gasped, her breathing irregular. She really aimed at Syrus's heart, which had defended her. Harin's vision also felt much clearer than before.
"Start!" Harin pulled the trigger, and the bullet quickly to pass through Syrus's neck until it shot right at the doll's head, causing everyone to fall silent. Syrus moved quickly to the side while the doll took turns moving around. Harin pulled the trigger, taking a shot without hesitation, while the other four also tried to focus their eyes, as the shot point was quite far away.
Harin lowered her weapon tremblingly. Sylus had helped her for now. She also had to make sure that the leader was indeed the murderer of her parents. There are many hunters of werewolf descendants in this city. Harin returned to focus on staring at Sylus, who was laugh as she saw the results of Harin's senior shot.
"Wow, I was surprised. Only the right shots from my team. Are you sure you don't need extra eyes? If this is how you shoot, it's better to be a cadet because you will embarrass the hunter," explained Syrus, wiping the marks of gunfire from other hunters. Harin was actually quite satisfied with Syrus' actions. It's just that, to defend her, he would sound too childish.
"Just because Harin failed in the first evaluation doesn't mean it's worth laughing at; this is not my team's problem, but the hunter's. Don't laugh at your fellow colleagues just because you feel superior. The proof is that she was successful in the second evaluation, while those of you who were successful in the first evaluation failed in the second evaluation." Syrus tapped his temples for everyone to think, not just the four people who looked down in front of him.
But all the spectators who laughed also felt that what Syrus said was true. Syrus behaved this way not because he defended Harin; he was just annoyed by the solidarity of his fellow hunters.
"After the evaluation is over, everything here, run three laps around the Lexus. I'll know who doesn't run."
"Ready! Sir!" they all said in unison. Syrus went back to his seat, as did Harin, who bowed respectfully to her senior who approached.
"Forgive us, Harin."
"N—no problem, Senior," said Harin nervously. They reached out for a handshake as a peace gesture between them. Harin looked at Syrus, who was still watching her. Harin should have realized that Syrus did not defend her. He is like that because hunters should not laugh at their fellows.
Harin accepted their handshake, and the evaluation selection had been carried out. Harin became the first person to pass, while ten other people were sentenced to become cadets. Harin was certainly relieved; she was not kicked out of Lexus. Harin rubbed her tense neck during the remote evaluation.
"Let's go." Syrus was ready to leave at one o'clock in the afternoon. Syrus didn't even look at Harin's face, who was already tired enough. Harin even forgot to have breakfast because she had to make coffee and serve food for Syrus. Harin needs to rest.
"Where to, Sir?" asked Harin.
"There is an open gate. This time you'll probably see it." Syrus pressed the elevator button; Harin, of course, couldn't refuse. She also sent a message to Tara because their lunch appointment had to be canceled.
After a month with Syrus, Harin was even able to follow Syrus's movements. Arriving at the parking lot, she immediately entered the passenger seat without hesitating or asking many questions. After all, they wouldn't be fighting monsters, so there was no need to carry weapons. Harin looked at Syrus, who looked serious.
Looks like Harin can't keep going like this. If she just follows Syrus without commenting, Harin will only be used as a coffee assistant for a long time, not a hunter.
"If I may ask, what did you do to my eyes? And why are you sure I will aim for shot it exactly?" asked Harin.
"I didn't do anything. There was a force in your body that blocked your ability. So I just pressed it. I've read your profile; you've been training in physical skills and weapons since childhood. You can use all your skills, If no one is blocking," explained Syrus. Harin actually didn't understand what kind of power was in her body.
"If I may know, what—"
"No," Syrus interrupted. Harin curled her lips. She also stared straight ahead and tried to showcase her skills by sitting still and just looking at the street in Syrus' private vehicle. Even though curiosity was haunting her, Harin's lips felt so itchy that she wanted to speak. She also has the right to know what happens to her body.
"It's been a month since I started working at Lexus, and I haven't completed a single mission for team. I just follow you; my ability isn't developing at all. Other hunters can practice in their spare time," Harin protested.
"No one forbids you to practice."
"But we keep going home at night, past the working hour deadline."
"Hunters are not tied to working hours when on a mission."
"But I'm not on a Lexus mission!" Harin urged. Syrus looked at Harin, who appeared annoyed, before returning his focus to the road.
"I feel a loss here because I don't know anything. I will file a complaint with the chairman for working outside missions of Lexus."
"You threatened me?"
"I raised an objection. Next month's evaluation will be for physical fighting ability. If I don't improve at all, you are the one who is hindering me because this month, I have only stared at the portal of blue-colored round light where monsters appear and have only deepened my knowledge of brewing coffee and tea!"
Syrus did not respond to Harin's words anymore. Both of them arrived at the location of the newly opened portal. Syrus opened his car door and looked at Harin, who was silent and had her hands folded in front of her chest.
"I'm just here; after all, I'm out doing nothing." Syrus didn't have a problem with that. He got out without saying a word to Harin, who sighed patiently. Syrus walked toward the portal.
The new portal is usually handled a few hours after it appears because the monster inside doesn't know when it will come out. As usual, Harin and Syrus waited ten to twenty minutes in front of the portal, a sign that they would leave soon when Syrus had seen the sky. A few moments later, he would take her home.
This time, it lasted quite a long time—up to thirty minutes. Harin, who was trying to dispel her boredom by playing this game, fell silent when she heard a strange sound. Of course, she looked around the car. Harin also noticed Syrus, who was finally staring at the ceiling.
But this time, Harin could also see a green light sliding out of nowhere and hitting the portal, which was reacting. The blue light in the gate throbbed. Harin straightened her body, her eyes wide open as several tiger-sized monsters appeared from inside the portal.
Harin jumped in surprise when she heard something stepping on the roof of the car. She became even more silent when the wolf appeared and came down from the roof. A red smoke surrounded Syrus, who was just standing still. Harin, of course, immediately contacted the Lexus emergency team because the two of them would not be able to handle the situation.
"Call to emergency Lexus! Harin Virendra found many monsters that appeared in—" Harin's words stopped when the monster collided with the wolf that bit it. Syrus turned his body, his eyeballs transforming into those of a wolf, and with his first step, all the monsters that were bitten by the wolf exploded just like that.
So, that's what Syrus had been doing; Harin just couldn't see it because of the energy that blocked all of her abilities. This face—Harin remembered exactly that this face was the murderer of her parents. Harin's eyes heated up; there was no mistake. She didn't need to hesitate anymore. Syrus is indeed the perpetrator who killed them.
Syrus got into the car, and Harin pulled out a gun, immediately pointing it at the silent Syrus. "Y—you... My parents killer!"
To Be Continued...